In 2009 the Missouri Garden celebrates its 150 anniversary - 150 years of being green. Here is a thoughtful essay by John Smelser on his personal thoughts on how to be "green" in the garden and work towards a sustainable environment. We hope it inspires you to be as green as you can in 2009.

Check out John Smelser's latest slide show on the beauty of fallen leaves. When you're out raking, be sure and take a moment or two to reflect on the value of leaves in your garden as well as the beauty they provide both from a distance, and, especially, up close and personal. Don't be afraid to get down on your knees and take a closer look no matter what you think the neighbors will think. - Just keep them guessing as to what in the heck you are doing!

We are blessed with a wide selection of plants to grow in our home but some just seem to be more reliable and trouble-free than others. In this slideshow, Linda Kalicak selected and highlighted the 10 best indoor plants which have been long-time winners with her.

Here is a fun and beautiful slideshow of some of the very interesting plants in our aroid collection. Some of the plants can be viewed in our magnificent Climatron.

It won't be all that long and we will need to think about getting ready for winter. One of the fall tasks for gardeners is to dig and store bulbs for winter. In this month's featured slideshow, Linda Kalicak shows you how to dig and store cannas. It's not that difficult and it can save you a lot of money when you won't have to purchase new plants next year!

This month we are featuring a new slide show from John Smelser. He has assembled a wonderful list of good small trees to plant under or near powerline. We have all seen trees planted in these locations that end up being unsightly from the butchering required to keep the plants out of the wires. John's list of plants is a great place start your search for the right plants to plant in this location. You and your neighbors will thank you for years to come as the plants grow and develop.

When summer heat arrives, stress, insects, and disease can follow that affect our trees. Learn which to be concerned about, which are just cosmetic, and what you can do to give your trees their best fighting chance when enviornmental stresses come. Every gardener should learn to recognize these top 10 problems.

A question we get frequently at the Garden this time of year and into the summer is "Why aren't my cucumber, squash, or melons producing fruit even though they are flowering?" Here's the answer in pictures and text. You too can be a matchmaker in the garden.

Hydrangeas are one of the most beloved of flowers. Through careful selection you can have hydrangeas in flower in your garden from spring into early fall. In this very useful slide show, Anne Kirkpatrick has interviewed Garden staff to create a list of the best hydrangeas for the St. Louis area. If you aren't already a fan of these wonderful plants, select a few to add to your garden this year and you will soon be bitten by the hydrangea "bug".

Our current featured slide show is a primer on the most common insect problems we see on trees at our Plant Doctor desk. Every gardener should be familiar with these common problems. Some are only cosmetic and cause very little damage. Others may be more bothersome but there are many environmentally sound things you can do to limit their damage. Take a few moments to become familiar with the common problems and their control.

It's not too early to start doing your research if you need a good tree for street-side planting. Check out John Smelser's recommendations for the Top 10 Trees for Street-side Planting. You will find some excellent choices.